Life is good

It has officially been one year since we moved to San Diego. In some ways I can't believe a whole year has passed, and in others I can't believe it has only been a year! We are so thankful for the friends that we have met that have so warmly welcomed us into their world. It has made the transition easier and enjoyable. We miss all of our family and friends so much, but these amazing SoCal days are making it hard to imagine living anywhere else but california. Now I know why people move west and never come back. I mean honestly, how can you get a better view than this on your morning run?

Stay tuned for our back and forth battle of where our "forever" home should be :)

Happy Birthday!

Tommy and I attended the 100th Birthday Ball of the US Navy Dental Corps.  It was held on Friday night on the USS Midway in downtown San Diego.  I felt so honored to be there for this beautiful event which honored all of the men and women who have cared for our soldiers for the past 100 years.  Inspiring speeches were made by two retired Naval Officers who each had over 25 years of service to our country .  When they spoke about how lucky we are to live in the United States of America, I felt chills. I know that I take most of my comfortable days for granted.  Our table has food on it every night and we eat until we are full, then we go to sleep in our cozy beds, confident we will see the morning.  Sadly this is not the case in most of the world.  Being in the presence of our military makes me proud to be a part of this country, and very proud of my favorite man for dedicating his time to become someone our military can rely on :)

Happy Friday

Here is a little photo from our morning.  Family day at beautiful Lake O'Neill on Camp Pendelton's base.  Bounce houses, slides, pinatas, volleyball games, egg and sack races- plus load of yummy food- were enjoyed by all.  Proud and happy to be a part of this amazing community of people.  Enjoy your weekend!  I know I will- I'm the birthday girl on Sunday :)

Just walk away.

My little zookeeper, Mason, had some elephants who were going down for a nap in their cage.  As you know, those elephants can escape easily so Mason needed to lock the door to their cage.  Since we do not have a zoo or an elephant cage in our home, my bedroom and bedroom door became their sleeping chamber.  I was not aware of the elephants until I tried to get into my room and found it to be locked from the outside.  We have one of those lovely stick keys that you have to poke through the tiny hole and turn the lock.  Just as easy as 1, 2, 3.... Except that you have to hit the exact spot without being able to see where you are jamming this thing into.  If only someone was there to video the madness- Mason bobbing around the hall with his headlamp and zoo keeper outfit on, Elizabeth running around the house buck naked with a pair of Mason's rainboots on, Lilly with her damn cone on (yes she has a cone again Kate, but thats a whole different story), and me trying every different angle with this stupid key.  So after what felt like 5 hours, I lost my cool. I was about ready to rip the door off of its hinges and down an entire bottle of wine. BUT it was noon on a Tuesday and I had a very tired two year old that needed to get to bed, so I decided to walk. away. from. the. door.
After putting E down for a nap and cleaning up the dishes from lunch, I decided to give it another whirl.  Within 30 seconds the door popped open.  Just in time too, as the baby elephants were starting with their little "wake up noises." Sometimes all we need is a little time away to totally restart our engines :)